Call them a little biased but J.J. Watt and Bill Cowher believe T.J. Watt will have a big season. So much so that they picked Watt to be the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, which would make for the second time he’s won the prestigious award.
They, along with former NFL QB Boomer Esiason, have Watt taking home the honors after the 2023 season wraps up.
Watt received three of the five votes with the other two going to Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett and New York Jets CB Sauce Gardner.
After arguably being snubbed the year before, Watt won DPOY in 2022. He ended the season with 22.5 sacks, tying the official league record, with five forced fumbles, and easily took home the award. Winning it would put him one step closer to his big brother. J.J. won it three times.
Still, winning it even twice would put Watt in some awfully exclusive company. Currently, only eight players in NFL history have done so, the most recent being Aaron Donald, who has won it three times. Other notable names include Joe Greene, Reggie White, and Lawrence Taylor.
If healthy over a full season, Watt figures to challenge for the sack lead. Through six seasons, he has 77.5 QB takedowns and would’ve had more if he hadn’t partially torn his pectoral muscle last season, missing the first half of the year. He’s just three sacks shy of tying James Harrison’s all-time mark.
If you hadn’t heard the news, J.J. Watt is part of the CBS Sunday broadcast crew, his new gig after retiring following a Hall of Fame career. Despite 12.5 sacks last season for the Arizona Cardinals, he hung up his cleats and is moving on with life’s work, which has meant dabbling in media and becoming minority owner of the Burnley Football Club.
Watt wasn’t the only Steeler to be selected for a 2023 award. Cowher chose Mike Tomlin as his Coach of the Year candidate.
Despite his success, it’s an award he’s never won. It’s an award Cowher won in 1992 and shockingly, the great Chuck Noll never won it throughout the Steelers’ 70s dynasty or the rest of his tenure.
